The Biological Classification of Living Organisms According to the Holy Qur’ān and the Old Testament

Subject Areas : Christianity

محیالدین قنبری ¹

1 - ندارد

Received: 2009-11-02 Accepted : 2010-01-30 Published : 2009-09-23

Keywords: Cosmology, biological classification, category of creatures, Nature, the&#x0D, &#x0D, Holy Qur’ān, the Old Testament,

Abstract :

There is no accurate description of a kind of "biological classification"in the Holy Qur’ān and the Old Testament. Moreover, in contrast to thebiological texts, Qur’ān and the Old Testament do not aim at scientificcategorization of creatures, and therefore it seems that their verses arethe reflection of their addressees’ knowledge of the nature. Both thesebooks have similar attitudes toward creatures– particularly plants– andperhaps these similarities are rooted in their same revelatory origin orthe similar cultural background of their prophets and their addressees.However, the Qur’ān’s description of creatures is more elaborate thanthat of the Old Testament.Therefore, only through logical deductions from the verses of HolyQur’ān, the Old Testament and their interpretations one can talk aboutthe "biological classification" according to these two scriptures. Thisessay tries to give an account of such classification and to comparetheir similarities and discrepancies. This leads us to this conclusion:The cosmology of the holy scriptures basically differ from theviewpoints of the Greek philosophers.